Chip sales flat in August

SAN FRANCISCO—Worldwide sales of semiconductors grew slightly in August compared to July, but declined compared with August 2011, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) trade group.

Semiconductor sales totaled $24.3 billion in August on a three-month average baisis, up a slight 0.1 percent from July, SIA said. August sales were down 3 percent compared with August 2011, SIA said.

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Through August, chip sales for the year totaled $189.46 billion, down nearly 5 percent compared with the first eight months of 2011, SIA said.

"Global semiconductor sales have held steady in recent months despite strong macroeconomic headwinds, but these challenges have hampered growth," said Brian Toohey, SIA's president and CEO, in a statement.

"With Election Day fast approaching, candidates should have a vigorous discussion about enacting government policies to reduce business uncertainty, accelerate the economic recovery and keep America at the forefront of innovation," Toohey said.

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August sales were lower than August 2011 across all regions, with small decreases in Jpan and Asia and steeper drops in Europe and the Americas, SIA said. Year to date, sales are also tracking below 2011 levels for all regions, according to the trade group.

Chip sales increased 1 percent sequentially in the Americas in August, the first sequential increase for the region since April, SIA. Sales increased 1 percent sequentially in Japan, fell 1.9 percent in Europe and remained flat in the Asia Pacific region, SIA said.

Hi Dylan - preliminary 2012 sales and sales growth expectations derived from plugging the just released 3MMA sales for August into the Cowan LRA forecasting model are $294.6 billion and minus 1.7 percent, respectively. These latest monthly global semiconductor sales and sales growth updates for 2012 are down from the last month's forecasts of $298.0 and minus 0.5 percent. These latest monthly forecast estimates indicate that semi sales could well be on a strong downward spiral this year. Stay tuned for 2013 updated forecast expectations which should be published in a couple of days.
Mike Cowan (Independent semi market watcher and developer of the Cowan LRA Model for forecasting global semi sales)